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Sunday, May 21, 2017

How Soon Hath Time (Milton Journal)

Underneath the pomp and classicism, there is a raging youth filled with a sense for social justice; sound familiar?

In reading Milton’s works and some of his life, I am
continuously struck by how he appears to be a seventeenth century Millennial—he
is idealistic, loves the Humanities and social justice (to a degree), lives
with his parents, and then enters politics when his artistic pursuits mature.
If this is an incorrect view of Milton, then a sonnet like “How Soon Hath
Time”, is not exactly helping Milton’s image.

The poem
functions as a defense of Milton’s educational pursuits. “All is, if I have the
grace to use it so, / As ever in my great task-maker’s eye” (Lines 13-14). As
the explanatory notes argue, “all” refers to “ripeness”, whereas “ever” is
alleged to mean “eternity”. This means that Milton’s defense takes on theological
underpinnings: how can he do anything other than study when God has directed
his life to this ripe moment (“It shall be in strictest measure, ev’n” (Line
10)); God’s will stands outside of time but imparts preordination as a function
of free will. In other words, Milton is appealing to the idea that if he were
to stop his pursuit of knowledge, it would be somehow going against God’s will.

I saw this
doesn’t help Milton’s image because, let’s face it, any contemporary young
person who is defending their own life path, is going to use similar appeals to
authority. Such appeals may not rest on God, per se, but they will rest on
equally powerful foundations (mental wellbeing, economic security, etc.) and
have a resonance—both Milton and the modern young person see their lives as
perfectly balanced between professionalism and personal engagements, when what
is likely true is probably not quite so even (“ev’n”).